What is it about grapefruit specifically that messes with pretty much every prescription in existence?
In:
Your body gets rid of medications in two main ways (there are others but these are the main two): pee them out or process them in your liver so the medications are inactivated and then pee or poop the inactivated medications out. There are a collection of enzymes in your liver (enzymes are kind of like fuel that powers the inactivation process) that modify medications so that they are inactivated. These enzymes can be turned up by some substances and can be turned down by others. Grapefruit is one of the substances that turns the enzymes down. So your body can’t clear medications as quickly -> you grt higher levels of medications in your body -> toxicity can occur.
Source: final year med student
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